Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
CUMHURIYET ILAHIYAT DERGISI-CUMHURIYET THEOLOGY JOURNAL, cilt.28, sa.2, ss.619-639, 2024 (ESCI)
The Ottoman period in Arabic literature, spanning approximately four and a half centuries, is a significant era in the history of Arabic literature. However, orientalists like Carlo Alfonso Nallino (d. 1938), Hamilton Gibb (d. 1971), and R & eacute;gis Blach & egrave;re (d. 1973), who were pioneers in modern Arabic literary historiography, either ignored the Arabic literature of the Ottoman period or labeled it as an era of decline and interruption. This article challenges these claims by examining the continuity, diversity, and development within Arabic literature during the Ottoman period, focusing on two leading literary figures of the time and the themes prominent in their works. The article starts with a literature review, then moves on to an evaluation of Ottoman-period Arabic literature. It particularly examines the literary personalities and themes in the works of Yusuf alBadi'i (d. 1073/1662) and Shihabuddin al-Mousavi Abu Ma'tuq (d. 1087/1676), who were well-known in the 17th century Ottoman Arab literary circles. These two figures were chosen for their role in preserving literary tradition while also influencing modern Arabic literature. The scarcity of scholarly research on the literary output of the Ottoman period, especially concerning the figures discussed in this article, represents a significant gap in the field that this study seeks to address. The article aims to determine whether this period experienced a literary decline, whether the continuity of literary traditions was maintained, and whether literary maturity and development were achieved. By assessing the literary themes of these two prominent writers in terms of continuity, the article provides an objective perspective. The study employs the descriptive method, one of the qualitative research techniques, and offers limited examples from literary texts. The conclusion drawn is that the Ottoman period was not a time of literary decline in Arabic literature but rather a productive era that sustained the vitality of previous literary traditions and laid the groundwork for the modern era. The literary tastes, critical abilities, and poetic identities of Yusuf al-Badi'i and Abu Ma'tuq reflect the cultural environment that nurtured them, illustrating the existence of a vibrant intellectual milieu and demonstrating how the rich legacy of Arabic literature was transmitted across generations.